In Canada, lettuce grows on heat generated by bitcoin mining. In his software company annex fish and vegetable nursery, entrepreneur Bruce Hardy produces food in a semi-closed cycle. In doing so, he reuses the heat that the energy-absorbing blockchain technology delivers.
Sustainable Agriculture Heats Through Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin mining costs a lot of energy because computers need a lot of computing power. Put; mining ensures that the cryptocurrency can be traded decentrally in a safe manner. Blockchain, the technological infrastructure behind Bitcoin, is increasingly being used because of its decentralized, transparent, and safe character.
The American bank Morgan Stanley estimates that bitcoin mining's power consumption in 2018 will be 120 to 140 terawatt-hours, Bright wrote earlier. By way of comparison: according to Statistics Netherlands, electricity consumption in the Netherlands has just dropped slightly below 120 terawatt-hours in recent years. This means that bitcoin miners consume as much energy as the Netherlands uses in a year. Now bitcoin mining mainly generates money for the miners themselves and the financial market.
Blockchain And Sustainability
Blockchain also offers sustainability opportunities, but the energy consumption that validates the data can be a stumbling block. In a pilot study by Wageningen University & Research and TNO (Netherlands), bitcoin mining's negative climate impact is mentioned as a downside for the application of blockchain technology in the agrifood sector.
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Aquaponics, growing fish, and vegetables at the same time
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Aquaponics is a system in which bacteria convert the waste produced by fish into nutrients for crops. The plants absorb these nutrients and filter the waste from the water. The clean water goes back to the fish, which reuses it. This keeps the circle in the semi-closed system. This ultimately yields two products for food consumption: vegetables and fish.
The concept has been around for some time. For example, farmers in countries such as China, Thailand, and Indonesia have been growing fish in rice fields for a long time. But by adding technology to the already old aquaponics technology, a new, innovative system is created with large-scale production opportunities. The infographic below shows how it works.
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